HR Corner Leading the way by Isabella Lee Focus on staff development pays dividends With the economy taking strides, companies in all industries are pulling out all the stops to develop a pool of talent who are best able to ensure sustainable business growth. Manulife (International) Limited does this through a mixture of pragmatic and forward-looking initiatives. "We emphasise mutual growth as well as learning and development opportunities," says May Wong, assistant vice president, human resources of Manulife. "This aligns with one of our main commitments to strong leadership, top-down from the senior management level." Manulife was recently ranked one of the best companies in the Greater China region — the only company from Hong Kong to be recognised — in terms of the quality of its corporate leadership and leadership development culture in a study by Fortune magazine. The study, which comprised 564 entities from 41 countries, selected and graded participants in an exhaustive screening that incorporated numerous variables such as survey and interview data, company reputation, leadership culture and values, and a proven track record. Great effort The accolade reflects Manulife's dedication to developing leadership through a range of measures, which are taking place at all levels of the workforce from recent hires to those with many years' service. "Every year, we perform a series of career talks and seminars at key universities, both locally and overseas, in search of fresh graduates with high potential," Ms Wong says. Those hired enter a two-year management trainee programme where future leaders are equipped with comprehensive skill sets, in-depth knowledge and a thorough understanding of Manulife's corporate infrastructure, core values and vision. "The key to educating our people lies in creating self-awareness" Talents demonstrating outstanding performance and capacity in line with the company's prospective growth can advance to a specially designed accelerated development programme (ADP), which gives candidates both classroom and on-the-job training. "We regard flexibility and adaptability as essential qualities for our top positions and ADP participants have a job rotation in an area outside the usual function of the business to stretch their development potential," Ms Wong explains. In addition to meeting and talking to internal senior staff during informal gatherings, programme participants have the chance to "shadow" managers or corporate officers learning firsthand the best management practice in real life situations. Tomorrow's leaders For team members who deal directly with customers and those at supervisory and managerial levels, Manulife utilises a unique leadership programme. Colleagues work with partners from different levels of the company to comment on the style and approach of a particular team leader. Through this open assessment, employees are able to better understand their strengths, and get a feel for what good leadership takes. They can then design personal development plans based on their individual leadership behaviours and needs. "The key to educating our people lies in creating self-awareness and we are facilitating a process that reflects viewpoints from several different angles. When people set their own goals based on areas they want to improve, they are more motivated to achieve them. The company supports them by reviewing their progress and the results," Ms Wong says. In 2004 Manulife launched the first phase of its significant engagement plan which aims to provide employees with the most favourable workplace. Since then a committee of senior staff members has come up with a number of constructive ideas that work towards developing talent in the company. Through extensive meetings, the committee has worked together to analyse the company's employment environment and identify areas of improvement. A range of initiatives have been outlined and implemented to address respective concerns. "It is hard to say exactly how much the company has invested in developing leadership because this is only one of many ways we foster our people," Ms Wong notes. "However, we are certainly receiving positive feedback with improvement in every individual, at every level, in the daily routine and on the whole in the business and company profile." Manulife's HR initiatives have paid dividends. The company's staff turnover rate stood below 16 per cent in the second quarter of 2007, well below the industry average. Salient points Emphasis on learning and development aligned with commitment to strong leadership Two-year management trainee programme in place to groom future leaders Accelerated development programme stretches top talent's development potential Leadership programme helps design personal development plans Engagement plans rolled out to analyse the employment environment and identify areas of improvement Taken from Career Times 9 November 2007, p. A20 Your comments are welcome at [email protected]